KUALA LUMPUR • The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded Malaysia's air safety rating, restricting its airlines from adding flights to the United States, four sources familiar with the matter and a US government official told Reuters yesterday.

The FAA's safety rating is based on a country's aviation oversight regime and is an assessment of the country's civil aviation authority.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia and FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Malaysia's Transport Ministry did not have an immediate comment.

Malaysia has been downgraded to Category 2, said the sources, who did not want to be identified.

A US government official said the FAA would make an official announcement today.

The official added that the US government was working with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia and would help the country achieve international standards that would give it the top Category 1 rating.

The new rating means the air carriers from the country cannot start new services and are restricted to current levels of any existing service to the US. The carriers will also be subject to additional inspections at US airports.

The FAA will also not allow reciprocal code-sharing arrangements between American and Malaysian carriers.

The downgrade places Malaysia in the same FAA category as its northern neighbour Thailand, which was downgraded to Category 2 in December 2015 and has since tried unsuccessfully to restore the Category 1 rating.

Other countries in Category 2 include Bangladesh, Ghana and Costa Rica.

At present, the only Malaysian airline route to the US is AirAsia X's service from Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu via Osaka.

REUTERS